A community resource and support group designed as a 6 week* session to create a safe space for that delicate time after pregnancy and birth. A place you can come while your baby cries the whole time. Yes, please come. A place you can come not worrying about a shower, or we can be your excuse for a shower!

The variety of emotional ranges and physical changes after giving birth can feel isolating – but there’s a woman out there thinking those same thoughts that you are! We want you to get a chance to meet her. Come meet the moms you can create friendships with, not just because you’ve had babies, but because there’s a true spark of friendship and understanding.

Each week we will seek to address one of the topics listed below.

Birth Processing

Sleep

PPD vs baby blues, and the range between

Feelings of Isolation

Self care

Self image and Body Image

Breast and bottle feeding, including pumping

Childcare Issues and Considerations

To Work or Not to Work? Work from home?

Relationship Balance, including Sex

Navigating Friendships – old friends, childless friends, new friends, those with different parenting philosophies

And any other topics that you would like to be addressed

Topics will be chosen by the class. General round table group chat.

Peer support facilitated by non-judgmental, working mommas, who happen to be peri-birth professionals, who have been where you are and will cry, laugh, and listen right alongside you. And maybe take turns holding some babies while we’re at it.

This group is limited to 12 women to facilitate real relationship building. Walk-ins cannot attend as we are creating a safe space for sharing. You are certainly welcome to attend more than one session.

*WEEKEND GROUPS COMING SOOON IN 2019!!*

(We’re so excited, can’t you tell?!)

Weekend groups will be 4 weeks vs the Friday 6 week group, and are therefore $80 to register as a new member. As always, any an all returning members come for $60. Using the same registration form below you can register and choose to pay via Paypal, or at the first session.

This year the 2016 Bluegrass for Babies Benefit Concert will feature live bluegrass performances by:

the Hocking River String Band

Comet Bluegrass All-Stars

Plus Hickory Robot and Jennifer Ellis will provide a special kids performance!

You can grab some Dewey’s Pizza, Grateful Grahams, or streetpops, and a beverage from MadTree Brewing. Further, the community partners listed on their site will have crafts games at their booths! Keep on reading to find out what we’ll have at the Modern Breastfeeding + Education booth!

First, let’s address why Black Breastfeeding Week is important. Then, I’ll point out events that are happening in the Cincinnati and surrounding areas, so that you can take part in supporting this amazing cause.

Black Breastfeeding Week.org has their own list of what makes it important to them. This deserves to be read and listened to; as the topic raised by #4 would have been overlooked by a middle-class white woman such as myself.

That statement above only highlights its importance.

As a mother, lactation expert, childbirth educator, and mother’s support facilitator, I also have research-based reasons why this is important to us as a community of mothers and professionals:

Disparity of care. The majority of Lactation professionals in the United States are white. Yes, I know this includes myself. This unfortunately speaks to the realities of racial privilege as means and access to available training. This disparity needs to be recognized and addressed within training organizations, as well as in how we recruit and interact with communities outside of our own personal culture.

Lack of people of color in professional roles. A lack of women of color in professional roles creates an even greater divide because of relatability. Women have better outcomes with professionals they can identify with, yet this lack of representation in advocacy and role models only furthers the goal of successful breastfeeding within African American communities.

Access to care. Many people of color aren’t aware of the resources available to them in the general populace.

Economic divisions. In many, too many, places in the US, there are economic boundaries to getting the service, care, and educational materials needed. This is seen in surprising places, such as hospitals. (See the next bullet point.)

Institutional support. Black women report a lack of support to breastfeed by medical institutions that serve their communities, even from nurses, pediatricians, and lactation professionals in hospital settings.

Health differences. The sad fact is that access to prenatal care and health care in general for African American women in the United States is dismal, and it is a problem that spirals. Birth outcomes have a major impact on breastfeeding outcomes, yet African Americans have greater rates of Gestational Diabetes and hypertension, which then translates to childhood obesity rates, SUIDS & SIDS, and asthma. Many cite the reasons behind these health issues as going back to economics: access to food, housing issues, and preventative medical care.

Infant mortality. This is the worse statistic of all, and it is clear: African American infants die at twice the rate of their white counterparts, with higher rates of preterm birth, higher NICU stays, and lower birth weights.

At this point I want to apologize to Black Breastfeeding Week organizers, as this is not the Joyous Post idealized in this year’s awesome #BlackBFJoy theme. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow with a simply gorgeous breastfeeding photo story.

Today’s post was instead to explain, to educate, and to confirm the necessity of this week’s outreach. I sincerely hope you readers will pass along this knowledge to your own communities.

The idea is that when confronted with all of these factors, you can start to see a bigger picture. You can start to see how one person’s role can sadly cause a chain reaction of negative damage, yet also how one point of outreach could truly help a family, and therefore a child, a baby.

I just found out at 5:00pm today, and the first thing I wanted to do was rush about and tell everyone. However, in the spirit of relaxation day, I took a pause, finished an appointment, ate some food, connected with an amazing woman locally, and for the purposes of this post, felt the floor.

What?

It’s ok, you read that right. I felt the floor.

I want to take this opportunity while I have your attention to teach you a relaxation practice, because true relaxation is a skill.

That’s right, I said skill.

It’s pretty typical for a childbirth educator to talk about relaxation. Aside from a multitude of research proving it shortens labor, decreases pain, and helps with oxygen flow to the placenta (i.e. to your baby), it’s also a skill to learn to slow down. It’s called: conscious relaxation.

In turn, conscious relaxation becomes an amazing skill to have when working with a breastfeeding mother, a woman suffering from any postpartum mood disorder, or mothers of toddlers. (Perhaps we all have to work our way up to that last one – its Master Achievement unlocked level.)

But in our modern world, we fast pace everything. We churn out work, stress about housework, return that e-mail after hours, then check our social media posts for events both personal and international.

We. Run. Mentally and energy-wise, we run; and then we wonder why we’re rundown.

So read this through first, then set a timer.

In the spirit of an incredible book I read years ago, One Moment Meditation, read through this entire exercise, set a timer for 60 seconds, and talk yourself through a practice. Then, the next time you get cut off in traffic, yelled at by a barista, or argued with over showering alone from a three year old, you can have this as a skill.

Happy Relaxation!

Start wherever you already are. No need to change clothes.

Situate yourself so that you don’t have to hold yourself up, nor is any body part resting on top of another, i.e. your legs aren’t crossed.

Open your palms upwards to your face or the sky, whichever is most comfortable.

Taking in a deep breath, feel the floor. What parts of the floor (or couch or chair) do you feel more of? What parts of your body are touching the surfaces? Is your weight more on one side than the other?

Reposition yourself to be more even in weight distribution and feeling.

Breathe deeply into your more relaxed position. Each breath helps your body feel, simply, heavier, there’s less to hold up, more you can trust to the surface you’re on.

Now the only thing left to pay attention to is your breathing. In, deeply into your abdomen, out through your mouth, slow, careful.

If other thoughts, to-do’s, or stressors enter your mind, focus back on the physical. It’s only one minute, and it’s your body’s. It belongs to that one minute, not to what’s coming next. Breathe it out like a physical part of that breath. Then move on.

Creating blurbs describing what is included in a GREAT childbirth education class is NOT easy for me.

After teaching for six years, being trained in various methodologies and attending over 120 births as a birth doula, and a Master’s degree; it is hard for me to tell you exactly how a class will shape itself.

Sometimes those who attend shape the class, whether they are second (or more) time parents, those pursuing VBACs (Vaginal birth after cesarean), single moms by choice, or those pregnant with multiples, in addition to the normal group of first-time, expectant parents.

Other times it is the teacher and their experience or methodology shaping what should be an individual event – something that simply isn’t one size fits all.

So let’s talk about:

What’s covered in a childbirth education class, what you will find in MY childbirth education classes that sets them apart, and as always, how to find a great instructor in your area if you aren’t located in the Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern KY areas.

What to expect, before, during & after delivery. This should include the stages of labor, coping skills and strategies (even if you plan on an epidural), and labor positions. You will also discuss postpartum healing, the beginning of breastfeeding, and it should help your partner learn how to support you.

In a GREAT class:

You should also have time to discuss interventions versus intercessions, i.e. learn about the myriad of tools you can have in labor either by choice or by necessity. This refers to inductions, augmentation of labor, epidurals and spinals, and of course, family centered cesarean births. You can also learn when you don’t need those same tools in labor, or alternatives to those tools in natural, normal births. You should get to practice labor itself, combining the tools you have learned in a real world way.

After all, complicated situations can arise, and while a class cannot turn you into a medical care provider (nor even replace your nurse or doula!) it can give you the tools to make decisions as a team during an emotional and physical event. Further, you will understand what nurses and medical care providers are explaining to you or asking you while you are in labor.

A standard class should:

Prepare you for what happens when you are laboring at home, when you arrive at the hospital, and discuss the things to pack.

A GREAT class:

Will also discuss nutrition in pregnancy, preparing you for your GD screening (Gestational diabetes glucose test), weight gain during pregnancy and weight loss post-delivery, practice exercises that help your pelvis and pelvic floor prepare for birth, and help you in creating birth imagery that specifically helps you.

It should also help you identify how to make medical decisions, address fear surrounding childbirth, and feel like you have been given the tools for postpartum recovery and healing.

The truth is a birth is more likely to go smoothly when we are prepared to discuss the fears we have ahead of time, as well as what pain means, and how we deal with it. We shouldn’t be afraid to discuss pain with each other as women.

Being a part of the decision making at your birth is what makes the “4th trimester” an easier shift for you as a family.

Finally, while a standard childbirth education class should cover breastfeeding in the first hour / hours after birth …

A GREAT childbirth education class should address breastfeeding as the full time reality it is – starting at the first hour after birth.

I am not shy; I DO think we create a GREAT class together. It has morphed over the years into something that is student led, partner* focused, and psychologically helpful to those welcoming a new addition to their household.

If you would like more information on what each of the six weeks include, contact me! In addition to the class itself, you will get access to a password protected site with extra links, videos, and local resources. We will also have an optional reunion class after everyone has given birth to process our stories together! And of course, class six is a full Breastfeeding Basics class itself.

Come and see how a GREAT class can help change the conversation you have about your birth, your confidence about your birth, and you and your baby’s healthy outcome – which is the MOST important thing!

*Whatever that means to you, all ranges of single-mom’s by choice are welcome, as are LGBTQA families.

Not in the Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern KY areas? Here is a link to finding a great instructor in your area!

With the myriad of books out there, YouTube videos, downloadable CDs, and class systems, it can get really tempting to take a class in the comfort of your own home and on your own time. It sounds … awesome! Unfortunately it’s not recommended.

Here’s why you should take an in-person Prenatal Childbirth (and/or) Breastfeeding Class, local to you!

1) Discipline

Clients, and their families, report the intention to read the books, watch the videos, practice the moves, but in reality report low usage, even when it is products they have paid for! In addition, those who do find they have the discipline, have no access to …

2) Getting Individual Questions Answered

By taking a class with a birth professional, you are face-to-face with someone who wants to help! Many report that the beginnings of any childbirth or breastfeeding education class raises more questions to mind than it answers – at first. Having a qualified instructor right in front of you is irreplaceable!

3) Local Resources

A local educator has a wealth of local l knowledge at their fingertips. Whether it’s simple, like where to get a massage, or as complex as hoping to hear about feedback of your own provider, the only person who can provide those resources is someone who is active in the birth community.

4) Practice

Practicing for your birth, meaning getting to practice the multitude of tools you’re learning in a real way, can be an invaluable tool. Not only can you do this in a great class, you can also take examples from the extra videos, handouts, and in-person measures a class provides.

5) Community

Certainly not least: Community. Everything listed above can be provided in a private class just as much as it can in a group setting. However, as someone who has watched entire classes create their own moms groups after delivery, it is wonderful to see everyday community being creating in prenatal classes. You are learning together, empathizing together, and ultimately sharing your birth stories together after the class has completed!

If you aren’t in the Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern KY areas, click here to learn how to find a great educator near you!

While I hope this list gives you the impetus to find a group class that works for you, please know that any measure of education before birth improves you and your child’s outcomes! Enjoy it!

It has long been theorized that with enough Vitamin D supplementation for a breastfeeding mother, the amount needed for babies would pass through the mother’s milk.

Now this theory is confirmed, via a double-blind randomized controlled trial, which ran from 2006 to 2014, and was published in 2015.

Considering this information is incredibly new to the pediatric world, you may not hear about this from your pediatrician justyet, because it hasn’t changed the AAP recommendation.

Please note that this is an AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommendation, not a WHO one, so outside of the United States this information benefits your health and baby in a whole new way.

Here’s the takeaway:

If you are a breastfeeding mom, whether directly or Exclusively Pumping (EP), there is an option to give your baby the daily dose of Vitamin D, via your body!

Instead of supplementing your baby with Vitamin D everyday, moms can supplement themselves with a minimum of 6400 IU/day, and the baby’s levels will be the same as a mom who does not take a Vitamin D supplement and gives their baby the recommended AAP dose of 400 IU/day.

Of course, if you don’t trust yourself to remember to take a daily supplement, the recommendation is to still supplement your baby directly.

Want more information?

Many questions and answers can be found on the KellyMom.com reporting of this, in an interview conducted with the researcher himself, Dr. Bruce Hollis.

Psychologically speaking you weren’t ready to learn about baby care until now! Until 36/37 weeks gestation, most first time parents are consumed with what is going on in their body and life changes; being immersed in all of that is completely normal. Then there is a shift, where suddenly you do care more about the postpartum part, the feeding and diapering. The worry about sleep. The nesting is over and the wait for the “after baby” part sets in.

Oh My Goodness. I’ve never even changed a diaper.

(It’s ok! Again, this is completely normal. You’ll be an expert after 3.)

Seek out a Newborn Care Class! Although the majority of first time parents get most of their information from Dr.Google, friends, and family members, did you know that getting information together helps facilitate the stages of parenting that occur after birth?

In a class you can ask questions that are individually suited to your family’s needs. You can practice changing that diaper, learn about baby wearing and other soothing techniques, feeding expectations, and when to call a doctor or a lactation specialist.

More than that, in Modern Breastfeeding + Education’s Newborn Baby Care Class we help you learn about each other. Facilitating communication, partner and baby bonding, protecting the core relationship as parents, and the “new normal” that is bringing in a roommate who needs 24/7 care.

And learn about sleep. Sleep is real life guys.

I hope you’ll join us, and if you aren’t local to the Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern Kentucky areas, here’s a helpful list of questions to use when finding any perinatal class locally, that is right for you!

Gillian Foreman wishes to use her vast experience as a birth doula, perinatal educator, and lactation specialist to help you achieve the best outcome possible! Therefore Modern Breastfeeding + Education is offering a new type of service: a Private Birth Consultation.

This is ideal for families / couples who:

are expecting twins, or more, and want to know about questions to ask care providers, normal protocols for multiples births, and more of what to expect

are pursing a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), as well as VBA2C, VBA3C, and HBAC. This can be especially helpful if pursued before pregnancy as we can address nutrition, physical therapy, healing, and care providers

aren’t sure what a doula is or even if they want one, but want individual questions answered about their upcoming birth

have questions about classes and resources in the Greater Cincinnati to Dayton area

had trouble breastfeeding a previous child or are worried about breastfeeding

want to review, or help compile, a birth plan, which is an excellent tool to discuss wishes with a care provider

are trying to conceive but have questions for a birth professional

This service is $100/hour, takes place in the comfort of your own home, and includes an educational binder.

Contact Gillian directly to discuss how you would like to use your consultation!